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Thank you so much! Huge shoutout to all 100 of you who have been supporting me throughout this journey! It has only been a year and this is just the beginning! I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Keep an eye out for the 100 Subscriber Special, coming soon! 🥳🙏🎉
📢 Hytale’s Update 5 is now LIVE! 📢
Headlining the release is the new Trigger Volume Tool for scripting encounters in-game without code, alongside controller support, Server Discovery for browsing community servers, a new Social Sidebar with a friends list and Discord integration!
▶️ Read it here: https://t.co/PdBZINPaok
FEATURES & HEADLINE UPDATES
- Trigger Volume Tool
- Controller Support
- Social Sidebar & Discord Integration
- Server Discovery
- 1 hour of new music
- 9 New Emotes + Updated Emote Wheel
- Prefab 3D Previewer
- Simplified Chinese is now in-game
- Launcher now supports older versions of the game
Thank you for all your continued support and feedback! 💚 #Hytale
More and more of our focus is now going into making new gameplay content for Hytale. Very exciting times ahead!
There's still a lot of groundwork to push through, but we're moving fast. The updates we've shipped so far have mostly been about getting the foundation in shape so we can actually build content on top of it without falling into a tech debt trap.
As a quick reminder, we had only a few weeks between acquiring Hytale and shipping it. In that window, we had to build a new launcher / website / many backend services, plus a lot of engine and gameplay catch-up, on a codebase that was already a few years out of date in many areas. We promised to deliver as fast as possible, and we did, but that meant the early post-launch updates had to be catch-up work rather than huge content drops. The next step is to put ourselves in a position to roll out content updates for the chapters at a rapid cadence.
As an example, some of the team have been on accessibility / controller support / localization, and so on. That kind of work easily takes a few weeks per area, and those devs are now moving to gameplay. Same story with the movement rewrite: that was needed to properly set up future things like mounts / boats / anti-cheat, and plenty more. Most of this is invisible to players day to day, but it's much better to land early than to retrofit later.
I know a lot of what you're seeing right now is creative tools, modding, and so on. Note that we use those tools ourselves too, so every step forward there improves our workflow as well.
Part of the team is also deep in Chapter 1 right now. That first chapter is going to take some time because so many of the pieces around it are still being put in place, but once we hit the rhythm of chapters, the cadence will start picking up fast. That's the part I'm most looking forward to. The goal is that by the time we reach Chapter 3 we'll be at a really good pace.
We're hiring across many areas to support this content push, as you might have seen. Lots to do, but this is the stretch I've been waiting for!
We have the funds, the team, and the community. All we need now is some time to cook!
My vision for the minigames tab (which would come after the mods tab): our own official Hytale minigames, with community-made games sitting right alongside us. That means the community would be part of the big 3: Minigames, Mods, and Servers.
It's important that we don't see the great minigames getting lost in the noise. The bar for putting a game on the tab will be higher than for other tabs, as you might imagine. Think the classic Halo custom games scene: a small set of deep, replayable minigames that talented authors built right inside the game (Infection, etc), the kind of stuff people came back to for years. DotA literally started as a Warcraft 3 custom map. Whole genres can emerge from community modders when the right tools are in place, and players can just jump in with their friends.
The recent contest made me realize we have a problem with current minigame mods; they're a bit complicated to just jump in and play. It should be super simple. We'll fix that with the minigame tab and other changes to the in-game mods browser page.
The idea is that you don't need a team. You don't need infrastructure. You could build a fun minigame or a short adventure over the weekend, hand it to us, and it will go to players if it's approved. Players would be able to support the creators behind the games they love, so if your thing pops off, that's a real win for you. No servers to rent, no ops to babysit. No paywall or monetization in the face of players, just optional support for official cosmetics at our cost, that's all. No need for modders to think about it, they just focus on making fun minigames.
This can greatly help community servers too. A server team can drop a polished minigame into the tab as a gift to players and as a doorway back to their full server for anyone who wants more (progression, community, etc). Build it once, ship it through us, let the players come to you.
How players hop in: peer-to-peer with friends in one click for instant casual play, or in a session we host and manage the queue for players. Same Play button, two lanes underneath as options.
A few notes:
- This is the direction, not a release date. Specifics when they're locked. It will take a while to get there.
- Quick session-based games live on the minigame tab. Persistent worlds and progression-heavy experiences live in the Server Browser. Different surfaces.
- Curation matters. I'd rather ship a few great minigames than 10,000 forgotten ones.
Let me know your suggestions!
Update 5 release lands Tuesday, May 26. Two weeks out, and more is still landing between now and then!
A new Community Server Discovery is in. The friends list makes its first appearance on release. Controllers are in too (first iteration, more polish coming). There are new emotes, Trigger Volumes for no-code scripted encounters, prefab 3D previews, and a lot more across creator tools, audio, and QoL.
Starting with Update 5, we're adding launcher version selection. Update 4 stays available for a few months, so modders and servers have runway to adapt beyond launch day.
Full pre-release patch notes for everything that's landed so far (more to come!): https://t.co/tDyMeB6jjy
Modders and server operators: read the Modders Warning section at the bottom of those patch notes. That's your migration map. A new Semver mod compatibility model is on the way too.
With Update 5 wrapping up, we're moving more and more developers onto content. We're also hiring aggressively, and the team is now entering full production on Chapters and major features that will reshape the game's future. Job postings go live this week!
We’re so excited to present you with the winners of the Hytale New Worlds Modding Contest! 🥳🏆
After weeks of grinding and amidst hundreds of absolutely incredible submissions, 30 Winners and 5 Community Favorites came out on top and get to take home between $1,000 - $10,000!
First up, we have our 10 WorldGen V2 winners, who brought exciting new worlds, biomes, and dimensions to life in Hytale⬇️
Time for some Hytale gameplay/accessibility news, gamepad support drops in pre-release tomorrow!
This is the first iteration, we know some things are a bit finicky with it, but it's in a good enough place that we feel okay releasing this to the public!
It supports most of the existing controllers (if not all - we rely on SDL3, but I know some of you will have some obscure controllers :p).
Hytale features a lot of different keybinds, it was quite a challenge to try to fit most of them on a controller. We came up with an initial layout that we believe covers the most critical aspects of the game. But if you find something that suits you better, you'll be able to rebind controller input actions to what suits you best!
As we move to Noesis for the in-game UI, the UI navigation by controller will improve. We had to implement a custom navigation for our current framework UI since it didn't support controller navigation at all.
We'll improve it over time, and we'll rely on your feedback as well (you can use the in-game report for that)!
Here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming Prefab Preview UI element which will be included in this week’s pre-release (Update 5, Part 7)! 👀
As you can see from the clip, there is full mouse-controlled rotation, tilt, zoom, and pan. It can also be configured for custom server UIs!
Lots of amazing opportunities for this! Everything from cosmetic builds/map previews for minigames, RTS buildings in menus, etc. We genuinely can’t wait to see what modders and server owners do with this tool! #Hytale
@Yumi_lychee Oh yeah, I can't wait for unlimited height. That sounds insane to me!
I think making the plains flat was a happy accident. You could make this biome a separate mod. Imagine ambient wind sounds here. Imagine the cinematography potential. Imagine a hurricane mod here lol.🌻
Today's upload is a big one! I explored 10 Community Made Worlds in Hytale! I am proud of this one and proud of all the talented people who made these worlds. It was a lot of fun and I hope you explore these worlds for yourself! Link below!
#Hytale#HytaleModding#CurseForge
@Yumi_lychee I noticed it was intentional when the lighting changed in each level! It was pretty cool and unique! It's an awesome world!
I absolutely love the top of the Ascent. I suggest expanding on vast landscapes like that for other worlds you may work on! It was amazing!
@Herborus I will definitely take another look! I realized after playing these worlds that CAVES exist. 🤦♂️
I will probably make some tweets showcasing areas I've missed in each world. Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks again! I'm glad you liked my video, I appreciate it! 😁
I want to talk about the in-game mod browser and monetization, but first: this is not a final answer or a locked policy! I'm brainstorming with the community because this is one of those decisions that can shape the game's future, and I want feedback before we commit to the exact model.
I've had people in DMs tell me Hytale needs paid mods, because modders put real work into their creations and should be able to earn from them. I've also had people tell me paid mods would destroy the ecosystem, because the mod browser would stop feeling like a place to explore and start feeling like a store.
Both sides have a point, and I don't think you have to pick one or the other. The model I keep coming back to is a hybrid that hasn't really been tried before: protect the player experience in-game while giving creators strong ways to earn player support.
Important note: none of these changes the EULA. This is not about taking away what modders can do outside the game. It's about what we choose to show and promote inside the in-game mod browser.
Here's my thinking: I want players to open the mod browser and feel like they're walking into a community library of cool things to try, not a shopping mall.
That doesn't mean I think modders shouldn't make money. Quite the opposite. I bring years of experience in modding and monetization, and I know the scene has evolved a lot. Creators put serious time into their work, and great modders should be able to build an audience, earn support, and make a living from what they create.
But there is a real cost when the first thing players see in a mod browser is price tags everywhere.
Mods are most magical when trying them is easy. You see something weird, useful, funny, beautiful, or ambitious, and you install it because there's no friction. That sense of discovery matters a lot to me.
There's also a deeper problem with paid mods that people don't talk about enough: the incentive structure between the game developer and the modder.
Imagine a creator makes an amazing fishing mod and sells it for $5. It gets huge. Later, the game team decides that fishing should be part of the base game. Suddenly, there's tension where there shouldn't be any. The creator feels like the game is stepping on their work, and if the studio is taking a cut from mod sales, it now has a financial incentive to leave feature gaps rather than fill them. Why add fishing to the base game if you're making money from someone else's fishing mod?
I really don't want that relationship. Our goal is to make a great game, give creators powerful tools, and let the whole ecosystem grow around that, not to leave holes for modders to fill and monetize.
So the direction is: mods in the in-game browser are free to install. No price tags in the browsing experience. No paywall as the default relationship between player and modder.
But creator support should be real.
We will give players ways to support their favorite creators, make creator profiles matter, highlight great work, and offer Hytale-side rewards for supporting modders: badges, titles, cosmetics, and so on. For example, if a player supports several creators, they get a special reward from us, not because they bought a mod, but because they supported the people building the ecosystem.
Longer term, there's room for something closer to an in-game Patreon-style system: support a creator, get early access to experimental builds or extra creator updates, while the mod itself stays free to browse and try. That part needs careful design, and I don't want to overpromise the exact shape today.
The principle is what matters: support should be pull, not push. Players should feel invited to support creators they love, not pressured every time they browse.
We make money when people buy the game and through optional cosmetics. That gives us a cleaner incentive structure: make Hytale better, invest in player experience, and help creators earn because players genuinely value their work.
BTW, if we ever handle creator payments directly, the only reason to take a cut would be to cover transaction and operational costs. We're not designing this around taking a percentage from modders.
This is not the obvious business-maximizing route. I know that. But I think it's the right one for players. I believe that if we are players first, we will do great in the long term.
I'd rather have a modding ecosystem that feels open, generous, creative, and alive than one where every cool idea immediately becomes another checkout screen. I believe we can help modders make great money while giving players a much better experience than a storefront-first model!
It will take time to get right, and some details will change as we build it. We'll share more as the mod browser takes shape, and I genuinely want to hear what players and modders think about this direction.